The other day my adorable little granddaughter was at my house and dressed up like a pretty princess. As I walked into the bedroom, I saw her standing in front of my full-length mirror, staring at herself and giggling with delight. She didn’t know I was in the room as I was grabbing my iPhone to take pictures. Soon she began to twirl in circles as she would look over her shoulder at her princess reflection. I stood as her secret admirer and wondered what she must have been thinking. It made me think how reflections of who we are and who we hope to be start at such an early age. I hope as Annika’s grandmother (or Lala, as she calls me), that I can impart to her that the true reflection that matters the most is the beauty of Jesus in her heart and life. All of us have seen our reflection throughout life in many styles of mirrors and glass windows. It is natural to look at ourselves on a daily basis. Yet, we often become obsessed with our image because of the reflection.
Do you remember as a child standing in front of a mirror with a friend and thinking your friend was prettier? Then, as you got older you began to see how TV and the magazines promoted the way you should look, and you may have felt that your image didn’t look the same or as…pretty. Our reflection really starts to affect us and makes different impressions upon us throughout life. I’m so glad I had a mom who always taught me the saying, “pretty is as pretty does!” She constantly reminded me that no matter how I looked on the outside if I didn’t have a sweet spirit and happy disposition, all the outward beauty would be ruined.
After watching a high-style fashion show in my teen years that my mom took me to, I had a very vivid illustration of this. In the fashion show, there was a particular model I thought was extremely beautiful. I noticed everything she had on from her clothes to her shoes. After the show was over, my mom and I were going to our car, when all of a sudden we heard a loud, filthy-talking girl cussing out a friend. When we turned around to see what was going on it was the “beautiful” model I had so admired! I was struck with shock and disbelief! Her mouth was open wide and she looked so ugly as she flung her arms around while cussing out her friend! She wasn’t “beautiful” in my eyes anymore. I had a real awakening that day of what my young dreamy, eyes thought beauty was…and wasn’t.
They say “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder!” The term beauty is often subjective to the one defining it. It’s placing a description to something that pleases your eye, like fine art. Yet, what one decides is beautiful fine art doesn’t mean the person beside them will conclude the same thing. Do you know that God Almighty thinks you are a work of art, something beautiful? He made you just the way He wanted you to be. Your nose, your hair, your legs are God’s unique work of art! When you realize you are a masterpiece of God, you will also find that “beauty is more than skin deep.” God has also placed the beauty of His Spirit inside of you! This is the true you. This is the you that reflects His glory and shines through your vessel. No matter what you may look like in the natural, when you reflect His glory you become beautiful! Have you ever seen someone who may not have been considered beautiful in the natural, but when they spoke they became beautiful in your eyes? A woman who has God’s glory inside of her will emanate a very special type of beauty that is often breathtaking and sometimes unexplainable. It goes far beyond the flesh and it is transforming. It captures her audience. It is not her, yet it is. It’s the transforming, redeeming power of God that resides inside of her that makes her who she is really meant to be. This pure beauty is God’s “work of art” in its fullness. It comes from the inside and flows to the outer man to encompass and envelope her into a newly created image of Christ. Does it happen overnight? No. It is a transforming journey of faith!
Just think, in God’s great creation, we know our universe was produced by a quick and powerful spoken word. A seemingly boundless and limitless universe with swirling galaxies and grandeur was brought into existence, instantly—at the sound of His voice! But…then…the Master of creation stopped the fast chain of events in order to begin the task of slowly, carefully, molding and shaping the first man! Think of the wondrous detail of each part of Adam that even scientists and doctors are amazed at the complexity of the human body! The architect of the universe, who created all the earth’s beauty, became the sculptor that “fashioned” woman! In Genesis 2:22 (NASB) it says, “The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man….” As God created the universe and everything in it the terms, “created”, “made”, and “placed” are used. The only time the term, “fashioned” is used is when it describes how God made woman! Webster’s Dictionary says fashioned means to shape, mold, or form. God took extra time and care to design the female body! You are God’s most prized work of art! The definition of “work of art” is: a painting or sculpture of the highest artistic quality that gives aesthetic pleasure to the beholder. Something that is “aesthetic” appeals to the senses, or the heart, as being artistically beautiful! So, in God’s eyes you appeal to Him as being artistically beautiful!
You may not feel you fit this description but you are truly a masterpiece in the making! He gave you Jesus Christ so that you can have eternal life (John 3:16 KJV). He gave you His mirror, the Bible, which tells you the truth and shows you the right reflection. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (KJV) says, “He hath made everything beautiful in His time…” Every day that you serve the Lord, you get closer and closer to your complete, beautiful image. He is working on the true you! The inner you! This is where true beauty is really reflected! There is a song by the Gaithers called, “Something Beautiful, Something Good,” and it says….“all my confusion, you understood…all I had to offer you was brokenness and strife, but you made something beautiful out of my life.” This song always stirs my soul to imagine a great God loving me so much that He takes the ugliness of my life and makes it beautiful! As Ephesians 2:10 (KJV) declares, He made you His “workmanship” or “work of art.” That’s amazing!
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